Reports

HOPE Report No.9 2004-05-27

Program No.5 (Joint research)

Participation in the conference"Diseases- the third major threat for wild Great Ape?" in Leipzig.

By Eiji Inoue (Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University・Graduate Student)

Period: 6 May - 8 May, 2004

 1st conference "Diseases- the third major threat for wild Great Ape?" was held in Leipzig. The decrease in habituated population of great apes because of diseases and rapid decrease in population of gorillas and chimpanzees by Ebola are leading us to consider diseases a threat for great apes. So, in this conference researchers in different disciplines presented by oral or by poster, and then all of the participants discussed and made a network GAHMU (Great Apes Health Monitoring Unit).

 In the oral and poster presentations, threats of diseases and measures against transmissions of pathogens from human or livestock to wild animals including great apes, and investigation of virus in laboratories, such as in immunological and molecular biological way, in order to monitor health or determine the cause of death were showed. Some studies about outbreak of diseases clarified need to take some measures not only to reduce disturbance of forests but also to control health of human and livestock. In many study areas, they presented some measures for health, which led me think we have to arrange some steps according to budget and circumstance of local district. Also it seemed that there is little information about pathogens in non invasive samples such as feces, urine, and saliva. So, it is need to analyze samples from many areas in future.

 In the conference about foundation of GAHMU, we discussed the outline which this unit has to make soon. This project includes many kinds of researches, so concrete ideas were scarcely discussed. All of the participants agreed with the conception that we need to make networks about diseases and to cooperate with each others in order to solve the problem about diseases. GAHMU seems to be useful for conservation of great apes.

before the GAHMU workshop in the semnor room at the BioCity

oral sessions in the lecture hall at the Max Planck Institute

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